Mattress



(No Model.) J. T. ELWELL.

Mattrss. No. 238,873. Patented March 15,188].

N. FEES, PHOTQ-LITHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. D. C.

a UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES T. ELWELL, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

MATTRESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 238,873, dated March15, 1881. Application filed January 28,1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES T. ELWELL, of Minneapolis, in the State ofMinnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMattresses; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanyingdrawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which formpart of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a plan view, andFig. 2 a longitudinal section.

This invention relates to that class of springmattresses in whichwoven-wire fabric is employed.

The improvement consists, first, in the combination, with the woven-wirefabric, of the end rails of the frame having bow-sh aped outer sides andend pieces made with a corresponding curvature, the ends of the fabricbeing secured between said end pieces and the rails; second, in thecombination, in a spring-mattress, of the flexible fabric, with barssupported by springs secured to the end rails, the said bars beingarranged to bear against the under side of the fabric by the action ofthe springs, so as to support the fabric and take up the slack therein;third, in the combination, in a spring-mattress, of the woven-wirefabric,jwith the end rails of the frame, having bow-shaped outer sides,bow-shaped end pieces secured to the rails and clamping the ends of thewires forming the fabric thereon, and bars supported by springs andbearing against the under side of the fabric, all as hereinafter morefully described.

The letter A refers to the side rails, and B to the end rails, which areconnected together at their ends by means of suitable bolts. The siderails are recessed at their ends to receive the said end rails, and thereduced portions of said recessed ends extend beyond the end rails, soas to form supports for the end pieces, 0, which are secured by means ofbolts or screws to the end rails, B. The outer sides of the end railsare curved or-bow-shaped, and the end pieces, 0, are made to correspondto said curvature.

D D indicate springs, which are secured to the top sides of the endrails, a portion of each spring being bent upward and coiled at theupper part of such bent portion, so as to form an eye, d, through whichis passed a bar, E. Preferably two of these bars are employed at eachend of the mattress, each bar passing through a certain number of theeyes of the springs just described. The tendency of these springs is tothrow the bars outward, as illustrated in that portion of the mattressin which the woven-wire fabric has not been applied.

The woven-wirn fabric F, which in the present instance consists of aseries of spirallywound interlacing wires, is secured at its ends to theouter curved sides of the frame by means of staples, and also by meansof the curved end pieces, (3, which clamp the ends of the wires upon therails and also conceal them. The woven-wire fabric is drawn over thespring-bars E, and when drawn sufficiently taut and fastened the saidbars will be depressed inward or toward the center of the mattress, asillustrated in that portion of i Fig. 1 in which the woven-wire fabricis shown.

By curving the outer sides of the end rails and also the end pieceswhich are secured thereto, the wires of the fabric will be shorter atthe center of the mattress than at its sides, and hence the mattresswill be somewhat stronger at its center than at its sides.

The springs, which are secured to the end, rails and which support thebars over which the wire fabric is drawn, constitute in themselveseflicient spring for the mattress irre-.

spective of the resilientproperties of the wire fabric, and, moreover,they serve to exert a constant tension upon such fabric and to take upall objectionable slack in the same.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, in a spring mattress, of the woven-wire fabric withthe end rails of the frame having bow-shaped outer sides and the endpieces made with a corresponding curvature, the ends of the fabric beingsecured between said end pieces and end rails, substantially asdescribed.

2 ea er/s 2. The combination, in a spring-mattress, In testimony that Iclaim the foregoing as of the Woven-Wire fabric with the end rails of myown I affix my signature in presence of the frame having bow-shapedoutersides, the two witnesses.

bow-shaped end pieces secured to the rails JAMES TALLMEDGE ELWELL. 5 andclamping the ends of the wires thereon, Witnesses:

and the bars E, supported by springs D, sub- M. Gr. THOMPSON,

stantially as described. EDGAR L. BREYER.

